"You don't get experience without being through the tough times," the veteran defender, who has played 234 times for Torquay, told BBC South West.

"We lost against Exeter in my first year and it was devastating because with 20 minutes to go we were at Wembley.

"But the following year we got promoted and we might not have done one without the other.

"Those kind of experiences shape you as a person and as a player and now we've got the chance to do it again, hopefully automatically that's what everybody wants.

"No-one's really talked about the play-offs yet, but if that time comes round then we're all big enough to be able to accept we've had a good season and forget about it because the league table doesn't matter after that.